So the day had finally arrived and our holiday was here. The countdown that had started at over 150 days had ticked down to zero.
So the alarm was set for 4am and we were all up and ready, with the car loaded,and we hit the road at 5.
It was an uneventful drive to the airport. This year we were flying from Heathrow, which is a change from the usual - Gatwick. It's so much neater and therefore reduces the travel time significantly.
The parking was different, in as much as you find a spare bay and leave your car there. When flying from Gatwick we tend to use APH, where you drop off the keys and they move your car around.
Checking in was very quick and in no-time we were through security and gate side.
So time to grab some breakfast and a coffee before boarding commenced.
We were not flying direct, due to cost, so therefore made considerable savings by travelling in-direct. So first up was a flight to Atlanta. Flight left on time and wasn't too bad. Delta had a problem with the in flight entertainment which took a couple of hours to resolve.
Breakfast choices were a bit bizarre. It was either scrambled egg or Thai chicken curry and this was at 11am...
We arrived in Atlanta more or less on time and cleared immigration, collected our suitcases, re-dropped them off and re-cleared security before heading to the gate.
The flight time to Atlanta is just over an hour so not too bad, after our earlier flight. We were slightly late into Orlando International as there were thunderstorms in the area that we needed to avoid. This affected all flights into the city.
The benefit of an in-direct flight via the States, is that you clear immigration at first point of entry. So our time clearing Orlando airport was very quick.
Having watched a couple of you tube videos took me through the online check in process for Alamo and allowed us to use the kiosk to complete the paperwork.
So 10 minutes later we head off to the car park to collect our car.
This year we chose a Toyota Corolla and within 30 minutes had arrived at the villa. There's a lot to be said for going back somewhere you know. Found our bearings very quickly and not a lot has changed since 2015.
So after dropping off the suitcases and a quick swim we headed off to SuperTarget. We didn't do a big shop but just grabbed a few things we needed.
After that we went to the Olive Garden for something to eat and also to help keep us awake.
We tried valiantly to stay awake but tiredness took a hold so we packed up the remainder of our meal and took it home.
Lights out was a very respectable 10.30pm for a great travel day.
